Land of Steel
by Empty Boundaries
Summary: In which EMIYA finds himself summoned into a post-apocalyptic machine war by a disembodied head.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

* * *

Year: XXXXX

One thousand and twenty-three times.

That was the number of times Emil had died in the course of this assault.

"Copy!"

He created more clones of himself to replace the lost numbers. It was a war of attrition ... and at first, he was losing badly.

The more copies of himself he made, the less power each copy had. The machines are able to continuously produce more units; constantly adapting to his attacks. Where his beams of maso particles were once able to effortlessly penetrate their bodies, now were been deflected off shields.

 _Just a little closer-_

The natural curve of the harbour forced the machines to congregate closer to each other. Well inside his companion's kill-radius.

Atop a partly collapsed building, the man in red steadied his bow, the spiral of sharp-edged steel in his other hand extending and warping into a more aerodynamic shape.

 **"My core is twisted into madness."**

Cracks of light wept down its surface as it _broke_.

"Caladbolg!"

When the machine lifeforms battled Emil, it was a war of power: magical energy matched against the toughness of armour and shields. The Spiral Sword is not so straight-forward. It twists space without regard for what it holds within it – in the past, it tore apart men and shields and weapons and land all the same. Now it rends the machines, warping their armour, crushing their shells, tearing their insides. The machines can face power – have seen thousands of Goliath-Class units pierced and ripped apart by a single blast of concentrated magical power. But this is concept; imposition of the abstract onto reality. It is something against which they have no defence.

The wrenching sound of metal twisted beyond its limits and torn apart filled the night. An Engels falls; the distortion has cut straight through its core. A second collapses; its core had been missed, but its power was gone.

"Now for the stragglers."

The remaining machines were reduced to scraps by a rain of swords.

* * *

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AN: This takes place at night for a reason.


	2. Initial Impressions

9S grumbled as he and 2B made their way back to the resistance camp. "Jeez, it's bad enough we have to go around running errands, but this weather sucks too." 2B ignored his words, already focused on the next task at hand.

"Ah, you two are back already?" Anemone greeted the two androids as they made their way over. Maybe 2B was imagining it, but the leader seemed as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

2B nodded ever so slightly. "The targets were exterminated, do you require any other tasks to be completed?"

9S sighed as his foot scraped across the dirt. "Come on 2B, we've been working all day, let's relax for a bit."

Anemone laughed at the pair. "You both have been doing more than we could ask, take a break, you've earned it."

2B looked over at her fellow YoRHa member, he could feel the slight disapproval radiating from her, but he was surprised by her answer. "Fine, but only for a short rest."

9S shook his head, 2B was always so serious and ready to do things way too quickly. He wondered if she even knew how to stop and take in the scenery. The truth was 9S wanted to learn more about who exactly they were working with, he wanted to know more about these androids at the resistance camp.

"Hah! You always come through, mister Archer!" 9S switched his attention to the supply trader, who seemed to be extremely animated while talking with someone. The red cloak he wore prevented 9S from seeing anything too identifiable from the back, except for the white hair.

"Where are the twins?" he questioned the supply trader. "I found what they asked for."

"Ah, let's see..." the man scratched his head. "They left a little while ago, not sure where."

Curiosity ate away at 9S, another YoRHa android here before them? They weren't briefed on any other units active in the area. "Hey Anemone, who's that?"

The leader looked to who 9S was referring to. "Oh, I guess you both haven't met with him yet, have you? That's Archer, he's been a big help with scouting and finding supplies. Your map data is as accurate as it is thanks to him and his companion."

9S rested his chin on his hand, was he a Scanner model? He couldn't be, he was obviously built for combat.

"I've never seen a model like him before." 2B muttered as she observed the android in question. "Pod, any idea?"

"Negative, no match detected between subject and YoRHa database." Pod 042 supplied as it floated beside her.

"Hm..." she wasn't liking the sound of that, she turned back towards Anemone. "Is he under your command?"

The resistance leader looked away, almost hesitant in answering the question. "No, he isn't a part of the resistance, he keeps to himself, though his friend is more chatty. We don't really know where they came from, but they help us out from time to time."

2B crossed her arms as she listened intently, that was odd. Why weren't they informed on someone like this?

Her heels clicked as she walked over to her subject in question, content with staring him down, observing what he would do or say.

The man in question was always surprised by how _human_ these androids could be. It was nearly unsettling to him just how much more alive they appeared than he _felt_. He could mistake her for a young woman, and the young man that followed her seemed no different.

9S could feel the tension in the air as he made his way over. "Hello, I'm 9S, this is 2B." he broke the silence easily. "What's your name?" Even if they knew his name, a proper introduction would be better. 9S felt uncomfortable under this strange android's gaze. This android made 2B seem as if she was exceptionally chatty, why couldn't 9S meet anyone who wanted to talk?

"Archer." he finally answered and the tension seemed to fade away. "You two have been cutting down the machines."

2B finally spoke, not really liking the idea of being spied on. "Have you been watching us?"

The man shook his head. "I've seen you both running across the city sometimes." His eye trailed towards the weapons that floated behind them. "You two keep yourselves busy."

"Stay away from the desert, it's not safe." he warned as he walked away, on to his next objective.

His warning would probably fall on deaf ears as always, androids never seemed to have any value of self-worth; they had that in common. Things seemed doomed to keep repeating themselves.

"Hey! You're just leaving?" 9S questioned at the man's retreating back.

He didn't answer, did it really matter? He's seen enough like them, ready to throw themselves headfirst into a cause for saving humanity. Emil should be done with his task by now.


End file.
